Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to oral engagement assemblies and particularly to oral engagement assemblies having mechanisms for cleaning teeth and for screening and diagnosing animal health.
Description of Related Art
Animal caregivers are looking for convenient, easy, and quick ways to proactively manage the oral and general health of animals, particularly pets. Dental health is a major issue and concern of animal caregivers. Typical products for improving pet dental health include hard or crunchy pet treats (e.g., biscuits) or pet products made from a chewable material (e.g., rawhide). Similarly, various pet foods can be used to improve dental health, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,592,031, U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,574, U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,870, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,841,178.
Caregivers also want to easily screen for the early stages of common health issues associated with dental health and with various diseases and conditions such as digestive system and diabetes. However, current diagnostic tools can be costly and complicated. Similarly, while there are many products that help to clean a pet's teeth with mechanical action, no single product exists today that combines this action with the ability to use the pet's saliva to screen for common health issues like dental hygiene, digestive problems, or diabetes. There is, therefore, a need for novel oral engagement assemblies having mechanisms for cleaning teeth and screening and diagnosing animal health.